A possible ban on damp wipes with plastic in it is enthusiastically received by Brabant water boards. The cabinet wants that because there is non-degradable plastic in the wipes that causes tens of millions of euros in damage every year. “Moist wipes are a thorn in our eye for us,” says Wessel de Beer of the Brabantse Delta Water Board.
A visit to the toilet is completed by many users with such a damp piece of toilet paper. Then the plug often ‘just’ goes into the toilet bowl. “But these wipes do not belong in the toilet and the sewer,” says De Beer.
The plastic that is in some of these wipes does not dissolve on its own. “The wipes not only cause blockages in people’s homes, but also in our ground, pumps and cleansing.”
According to De Beer, the damp toilet paper with plastic is responsible for 75 percent of the malfunctions of the water board installations. State Secretary Jansen of the Environment knows that unblocking those systems every year leads to a cost item of between 22 and 55 million euros.
“And that is just our tax money,” adds a spokesperson for the Rivierenland Water Board. “It would be a lot of care if this would go out. Then it is a lot easier and cheaper to clean the water.”
Clearing water is a big challenge for the water boards. The purification standards are getting higher and there are more and more worrying substances in the water. “We are actually getting dirty with each other.”
Brabantse Delta and Rivierenland Water Board would rather see that people only rinse the ‘3 Ps’ through the toilet. “Poep, pee and paper. So there is no damp toilet paper,” says the spokesperson for the Rivierenland Water Board.
“That is why we all ensure that we as a water board can focus on those challenges and do not have to keep on clogging through wipes,” adds Wessel the bear of the Delta Water Board.
The State Secretary and the Water Boards want a European ban on the damp wipes with plastic. For this, European laws and regulations for one-time use of materials with plastic (SUP) must be adjusted.
Read more here:
Drinking water crisis threatens, urgent action is needed to prevent shortages
Water quality is lousy and therefore threatens nitrogen crisis
Plastic balls float in the mark and nobody knows where they come from
The fight against the plastics soup in rivers and the Biesbosch: ‘mad work’